Chapter 2
She woke to flurries and a quiet building the next day. There were still SHEILD agents around, those with few friends and family to spend the day with, but no sounds of training echoed in the hallways. Nat had few plans for the morning and wandered over to the kitchen to grab some eggs. There sat Wanda and Vision, smiling and joking with each other. Both wore their disgustingly matchy Christmas sweaters they had bought the moment they learned what tacky Christmas sweaters were. Nat decided to take her meal alone, wishing Barton or even Steve was around. She couldn't stand Christmas, and knew neither of them would be overly zealous with the festivities. The rest of the day passed rather uneventful for her, she went about her usual schedule until 4pm rolled around.
Although she had much rather simply spend the night alone she'd already promised Steve she would go to the party. Multi coloured lights covered every inch of the city, red and green colours streaked across her face as she drove through the slushy streets. Why they didn't just gather at the facilities she couldn't understand. Instead Tony discreetly bought out a private building for night. The outside looked like a rundown warehouse, but everything changed when she opened the door.
"My god…" Nat whispered. Every square inch of the place was covered in Christmas couture.
"Look who decided to show up" Tony said, jumping off the couch, "but what's with all the black, it's Christmas for Christ's sake!" Immediately a scarf found it way around her neck and Tony cocked drunken smile at her. Nat couldn't help but crack a small smile back.
"Sorry, but I think Christmas is just a product of capitalism and big corporations trying to take hard earned money in the form of cheap Santas and snowflakes." She responded.
"Ah, Nat that's just the Russian in ya talking. Come sit down! Have a beer."
"Gonna need a lot more than that to get me through this mess," she retorted while she made her way to the couch Steve sat at. It was then she looked at the faces around the room. A lot had changed. Thor and Banner were missing completely, Barton was at home with his family, Steve and the others who fought with him were not even supposed to be in New York. They only got here a few weeks prior and with much difficulty. She looked at the array of jello shots in front of her and picked up the lime one. In a moment the plastic container was nearly empty only a few bits of the green substance was left on the bottom. She stared at it thinking back to the light she had seen in the dream.
"Hey Nat you okay?" Steve asked, startling the woman.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine, just tired. Christmas isn't exactly my forte". She broke a small smile at the comment. Steve handed her another shot just as Tony and Scott started some atrocious duet.
"Perfect timing," She laughed, "They seem to get along alright, considering everything."
"Yeah, well it's not like Scott had any real resentment towards Tony, and I think everything has settled down a bit. Tony helped us get back to New York, and was able to bring his daughter over a few days ago to visit."
"Yeah, makes sense. But you're doing good?"
"I'm fine, you?"
"I'm fine."
Drinks and laughter carried on until midnight, and as the hours went on, more and more people slipped out of the building. Finally only a small group remained
"Merry Christmas guys," Sam said, lifting his glass. Everyone responded with Merry Christmas' and took a sip.
"Not exactly traditional, hey," Tony mused, looking around the room. Nat did the same. It was a strange group but somehow, it worked.
"Not at all", she responded, "Hey, I'll be back in a second".
"Where are you going?" Steve called.
"I really got to take a piss if you must know". She heard a small chuckle from the living room. With that she walked off to the using the toilet She stared at the mirror and ran her hands through her hair. Her eyes puffy and swollen, underneath a light purple haze. Her hair was duller, and lips chapped. It wasn't stress, she was always 'stressed', it kind of came with the assassin job title. Her sleeplessness was uncalled for. She sighed and shook her head, and was turning to leave the room when she noticed a reflection in the mirror. Or, not so much a reflection but an outline. Quickly she turned but no one was there. "The hell…I'm not even drunk," she whispered before slowly turning back to the mirror. The shadow was still there, becoming more and more clear. A figure walking, and behind it evolved a city scape. Natasha's eyes widened, felt her hand move towards her hip, where a dagger hip. Her head turned once more, nothing behind her except an elaborately decorated wall. Windows and doors became clear in the background of the mirror as the black mist strode in front. Eventually actual buildings could be seen "That's… what the hell is going on."
Natasha quickly darted out of the room and said hurried goodbyes to the few still in the living room.
"Nat what's up? Where's the fire?" Steve asked, putting a voice to the confused faces on the couch.
"Something's come up, thanks for night, I'll see you soon," she answered, shrugging on her coat.
"Left hip, boot… shit that's all I got," she murmured to herself as she exited the building. She didn't know what was out there, but knew it was only a few blocks away. She exited the tower to empty streets. A taxi drove by splashing slush a few feet away from her. She headed east, in the direction of the watch store she saw in the mirror. Even thinking that seemed crazy to her, following what she saw in a mirror, especially after the dream from the night before. But when one lives in a world of interdimenial beasts one has to be ready for crazy. She considered calling someone at the party, but it was probably nothing. Exhaustion and stress. But as she walked towards the store she did see someone vaguely resembling the shadow, a taller man with light hair. He glanced up for second, before turning into a side street. Natasha hurried her pace, years of following prey built up her instincts.
She followed him down the road for a block before he turned again, this time into a smaller alley. She turned as well, but the alley was a dead end… and empty. She stepped forward cautiously, her hand at her hip. In a split second arms grabbed her and pulled her to the side.
"So darling, have to ask it, why are you following me," drawled a soft voice behind her. She glanced up for a second and saw short blonde hair dangling above her.
"You know, funny thing is, I was just trying to figure that out myself." In one quick motion she broke his hold, finding herself face to face with someone she had never seen before. He had the slightest sense of familiarity to him, but she couldn't place the face. He was generally tall and taunt, not appearing to possess the strength he had just proven to have. His blonde hair dangled onto his forehead, landing just above a thick set of brows, but his eyes were what stood out to the spy. She had been tortured, captured, a murderer, a torturer and in every situation the eyes were what she remembered, what stuck with her. Sometimes it was the fear, the frantic outpouring of desperation. A rabbit that just saw a wolf. Other times it was the manic power laced in those eyes. The knowledge that they were dominate, that they had control, that they were the wolf. But his eyes were different. Almost, an inbetween of the two extremes. They seemed so familiar but she couldn't figure out who the owner of them was.
"I really ought to be on my way, I don't need to waste my time on you." He started, walking forward, attempting to land his hand on Natasha. She slipped out of the way and brought her leg to his back. The man spun around, catching her arm, and threw her to the ground. Romanoff laid there for a moment, surprised by his strength yet again, but then decided to grab the dagger holstered by her left hip. It was the newest one she owned, and had a carefully crafted black handle. She swung the dagger out, landing it in her attackers leg. A look of shock crossed his face before his facial features began to morph into someone entirely different.
